Never Alone
by Magical Reality
Summary: It's a moonlit night in which Katara is found staring wistfully at the full moon in Ursa's garden.  Zuko knows she is feeling empty now that the war is over and he feels that only he can console her.  Zutara postwar oneshot.


**Ok another oneshot for ya'll. This one is longer than the last oneshot I did, so yay! I am terrible at poetry so please don't judge me to harshly on the poem at the end. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender**

Katara sat on her window seat with a half read book in her lap. She had been reading, but her mind kept drifting off to a problem she had been running away from for almost a month now.

The war had been over for almost a year and no one could help but believe the reality of it. Katara and her friends were very relived though, because now they all had a chance to live regular lives. How wrong had they been. Zuko had been elected the new Fire Lord not long after the war ended and of course Aang continued his duties as the Avatar. Toph went with Aang on every single mission he had, whether it was dealing with some sort of uprising against the Fire Nation or a boring meeting in Ba Sing Se. This kept them far from her and she felt as though her relationship with Aang had been brutally severed. As for Sokka, after he turned seventeen, he returned to the Southern Water Tribe to help with the rebuilding processes. She would have gone, but Sokka insisted he wouldn't be gone long. So she waited and now he has been gone for almost two months with no word as to what was going on. Katara had surprisingly just received a letter from him last week that did not make her feel any better.

Dear Katara,

I am sorry I have not written to you yet. It has been pretty chaotic up here, but all is going well. I got married last week to a beautiful girl named Kaya. You remember her, don't you? Dad is doing well and I wish could say the same for Gran Gran. She died last month from old age. Pakku is devastated as well as the rest of the village. I miss you lot, along with the rest of the gaang. I should have taken you with me when I left, rather than leave you in the Fire Nation. I just didn't think any of this would happen. Please remember that I love you and think about you everyday.

With love, your brother,

Sokka

Katara didn't know what to think after she read that letter. Her whole world came crashing down and she didn't know where to go anymore. Aang and Toph had their own little world, flying from place to place and seeing the world andSokka had a life now and would probably forget about her in a few months.

Katara set her book aside and stood up from the window seat. She didn't want to think about any of this anymore. The more she did, the more she felt alone and abandoned. She forced her tears to stay controlled as she clenched her fists. Some fresh air would do her good.

She secured a crimson cape around her neck and left her room. She walked down the quiet halls of the Fire Palace with her lonely thoughts still haunting her.

She approached the library and failed to note the unusual fact of the door being open. Normally it was shut so that whoever was inside could consentrate on whatever he or she was doing. She walked passed the quiet room, completly missing the concerned golden eyes that looked at her when her footsteps resounded in the room.

Zuko watched as Katara glided past the doorway. He knew she had been troubled these past couple of months and had tried more than once to help her. But every time she had insisted that there was nothing wrong and that she was fine. Zuko knew she was lying to keep him from worrying about her so he could focus on his duties, but he couldn't help but think about her. Her pretty ocean eyes always looked so sad and ever since she had gotten that letter from Sokka, they began to look cold and even alone. But tonight, they looked broken. Like her pools had frozen over and then shattered into dozens of pieces.

Zuko stood from his chair. He hated seeing her like this. So, he was going to try his best to fix it.

He left the library and followed the sound of her footsteps. They led him down one more hall and then into the royal gardens. He walked quietly down a path, hoping she wasn't going where he thought she was. Hesitantly he stepped past a tree.

There she was, standing in the light of the full moon in his mother's garden next to the turlteduck pond. A gentle breeze played with her hair and cape, making her look like a forgotten princess from a dream. She was gazing wistfully at the moon with her broken eyes. His heart lurched with emotion when he saw a crystal tear run down her cheek. That tear told her whole story to Zuko. She was feeling alone because everyone had left her. She felt unloved and abandoned. Sokka, Aang, and Toph had left her to continue with their lives. They knew where they were going. Katara didn't even know where to begin.

Without knowing what he was going to say, he walked up to her slowly so he wouldn't scare her. When she saw him, she slowly turned her head to look at him. Her hair lifted and swirled gently in the wind as the moonlight shone on her saddened face. Zuko stood before her as her eyes pleaded for something he didn't know how to give.

"Katara?" he whispered, though he did not know why.

She blinked and a fresh rainfall of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Zuko felt like he had stepped into a dream as he gently took Katara's cold hands in his. "Katara will you please let me help you? You have no idea how much it hurts me to see you like this."

Katara still didn't say anything as her hands slowly warmed in Zuko's.

"I understand that you feel alone and abandoned. Maybe even unloved. But please believe me when I tell you this. You are loved. Aang and Toph may have not visited in a while, but they will always remember you. Sokka maybe half way across the world, but he will never forget you and he will come back to see his one and only sister. And..." here he paused, unsure of how to word his next senatnce. "And I have not lived a day without you in my heart since you saved my life. You are never alone, Katara. There will always be someone there for you."

Katara gazed up at him with her broken, tear-filled eyes. "I just don't know how to go on."

Zuko, running out of ideas, released her hands and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Katara pressed her face into his chest as she wrapped her own arms tightly around his torso. She began shaking as she cried her heart out. Zuko stayed strong for her and stroked her hair as the broken girl leaned on him for emotional support.

The two stood there together, desperately holding eachother and allowing all of their emotions to be healed by the moonlight that shone down upon them. After a while, Katara relaxed and lifted her head from Zuko's chest. His heart soared as he saw that her eyes had been mended. They had frozen over again and then melted back into the oceans they used to be. Only now under the moon, they shimmered a dozen different colors, strengthing Zuko's affections for the girl.

"Thank you," she whispered as he gazed down at her.

He blinked. "For what?"

"For reminding me that I was never alone. All this time you were there, waiting for me to come to you. You even came to me, asking if you could help. I was so lost though. I was oblivious to the fact that you were the only one that hadn't left me," Katara confessed, closing her eyes.

"Like I said Katara, the others never left you. They just went to seek a new life in the new world. You can to. No one will ever leave you to be alone in this world. Don't forget that. Ok?" Zuko said, smiling gently down at her.

Katara opened her eyes again and nodded, smiling a little. "Ok."

Zuko sighed happily, pleased that he had healed the once lonely water bender from her solitude and isolation. Katara rested her head on his chest again, tilting it just enough so she could look up at the brilliant moon that was glowing in the sky with all the little stars.

~End

All of the stars

Shine so bright

But my heart is as isolated as the night

All have forgotten me

Like a distant dream

All have left me

Like a hated memory

My fears have been read aloud

From the pages of my dark book

The cold black hand of abandonment

Has taken hold of my heart

I loose all feeling

As the candles flicker out

And I see now

That I will forever live

In this cloud of doubt

Then an angel appears, in my dark dream

And frees me from this cell of self pity

All of my veins flood with love again

And now I can see

The truth that was behind

All of my misery

That all this time

I had been decived

That no one had ever really left me

That I was still dearly loved

That I would never be alone

But forever beloved

**Thanks for reading! Please comment if you have the time. It is appreciated.**


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